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Entertainment Weekly

The confident majesty of the music, however, belies how he and his bandmates have invigorated their rock-lite reign. [20 June 2008, p.65]

Spin

For all of Coldplay’s experimentation, though, there’s no doubting that Viva La Vida, with its sturdy melodies and universal themes--think love, war, and peace--is an album meant to connect with the masses.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Whatever the case, Viva La Vida sounds as if it comes as close to the experimental edge as Coldplay dares. It isn't a bad place for the group to be.

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Q Magazine

So some bad habits die hard, but on every other level Viva la Vida... is an emphatic sucess--radical in it's own measured way but easy to embrace. [July 2008, p.95]

Paste Magazine

The sonic deviations may challenge fans who prefer that all of the band’s releases be a shade of “Yellow.” But more daring listeners will be relieved that Martin & Co. are exploring new territory.

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Under The Radar

Even when the singer is being vague or issuing plaints, his words and voice, when coupled with the music, hold considerable sway. [Summer 2008]

Lost At Sea

Viva La Vida does find Martin and his bandmates willing to extend their musical boundaries, making for an occasionally brilliant album that's exponentially more vibrant and engaging than 2005's generally stale "X&Y."

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Observer Music Monthly

That it lacks any obvious singles hardly seems to matter. Viva La Vida is an assured return that should go some way to restoring Coldplays wilted critical stock.

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All Music Guide

The greatest thing Coldplay may have learned from Eno is his work ethic, as they demonstrate a focused concentration throughout this tight album--it's only 47 minutes yet covers more ground than "X&Y" and arguably "A Rush of Blood to the Head"--that turns Viva la Vida into something quietly satisfying.

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Hot Press

Chris Martin and co. return with another album guaranteed to rock arenas across the world.

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New Musical Express

Itâs in its latter stages that Viva... truly goes stratospheric: on the magnificent orchestral pop title track, where Martin imagines himself as a deposed French king reduced to sweeping the streets; on the bruised âYesâ, like Dandy Warhols and Depeche Mode lost in a desert duststorm; on the Satanic blues hymnal of single âViolet Hillâ.

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Sputnikmusic

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends takes a band who should have been in decline and a sound that’s been tried and true and makes it all sound fantastically fresh.

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Dot Music

Well, reports of the death of the old Coldplay have been much exaggerated.

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musicOMH.com

While this doesn't quite hit the heady heights of "A Rush Of Blood To The Heads," it's a huge improvement on the beiger than beige "X&Y," and if their next album (apparently featuring a Kylie Minogue duet!) continues this trajectory, we could have something pretty special on our hands.

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Billboard

The rest is closer to the Coldplay we know: a competent blend of heavily orchestrated redemption songs ('Viva La Vida,' already the biggest hit of the band's career), swirly arena rock ('Lovers in Japan') and life-stinks-without-you ballads ('Strawberry Swing')likely to resonate despite the new bells and whistles.

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Blender

Viva La Vida still manages to seem downsized compared to the band's gradiose early work. [July 2008, p.69]

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Boston Globe

Viva La Vida is just such an escape, a dreamy place to visit. And if it's not quite perfect, at least you get the sense that the members of Coldplay gave it their best shot.

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Rolling Stone

Coldplay's desire to unite fans around the world with an entertainment they can all relate to is the band's strength, and a worthy goal. But on Viva la Vida, a record that wants to make strong statements, it's also a weakness.

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Slant Magazine

Coldplay have come up with the rare major-label pop record that stands to move a ton of copies even as it's at least a little bit challenging to its primary audience.

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PopMatters

Viva la Vida is not their masterpiece, but for now, it’s as close as they’re gonna get.

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Austin Chronicle

It isn't perfect, but Viva la Vida re-establishes Coldplay's relevance in this era where every new indie rock band really wants to be Coldplay.

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Pitchfork

The record's violent, revolution-themed artwork is misleading. Viva is more like a bloodless coup--shrewd and inconspicuous in its progressive impulses.

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Drowned In Sound

They try hard, Coldplay, but it just isn't enough; their fourth album might just be their best yet, but it's still a long way from being the epochal classic that Chris Martin is desperate to create.

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NOW Magazine

Viva La Vida starts off with promise for fans who felt that "X&Y" was a far cry from "A Rush Of Blood To The Head."... Unfortunately, the rest of the record fails to build on this.

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Uncut

When it's not straining for Significance, though, Viva La Vida is often rather lovely.

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Mojo

While they fight shy of radical "Kid A"-style reinvention, hats should be doffed to Coldplay for at least having artistic cojones to mess with a winning formula. [July 2008, p.101]

The Guardian

Lyrics aside, Viva la Vida fixes most of the glaring problems with 2005's "X&Y," simply by eschewing verse-chorus structures in favour of something more episodic.

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No Ripcord

What they’ve given us is an exquisitely polished blur, enjoyable at times, mildly challenging at others, but nothing that you couldn’t feel comfortable piping in as background for the Sunday barbeque with the Petersons.

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Village Voice

When the pastoral Eno flourishes that started Vida off so promisingly return for a quick coda, Martin reverts back to his suavely crooning self, but blows it with his first four words: "And in the end . . . . " Bam, you're thinking 'Abbey Road,' and while Vida is far from a dog, it's just another unflattering comparison that the record itself needlessly invites--an extremely overconfident way to handle a crisis of confidence.

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Tiny Mix Tapes

Coldplay’s all about elongation this time around, and if you couldn’t tolerate their dramatics before, Viva la Vida will do nothing for you. Don’t get me wrong; to my ears, this is the group’s strongest offering yet, but since this album is the same old naive romanticism theatrically propped on a pedestal, it’s not really saying a lot.

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Hartford Courant

It's an improvement on the band's impressively dull 2005 album, "X&Y," but Coldplay's latest doesn't recapture the promise of the band's first two albums.

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Paste Magazine

Given Eno’s quarter-century of Bono-fides, this isn’t surprising. Martin’s interests are frequently vague--on 'Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love' he sings about soldiers who must soldier on and runners who must run until the race is won. Seriously?

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 191 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

jimmy o gave it a10:
Coldplay is one of those bands that truly brings the word "music" to a whole different level! There are people that do not get the greatness of this kind of music, but that is only a pitty for them. coldplay is, and will always be, the kings of alternative.

Scott W gave it a7:
The album is good because the band is great. Its not a Rush of Blood or something by any means. Coldplay is a super band, one of the big ones. Their sound is very popy and truly theirs. This marks their 4th studio album. For sure though its better then their third. A little more out in the experimental side. Of course they are no Radiohead or Pink Floyd. The album still though is very much nice to listen to with a few songs that will top the rock charts.

Stuart M gave it a5:
Its average at best. It has some of the same qualities as the other albums but the changes weren't for the better. The Falsetto was amazing and when he lost it the quality of his vocals went down. He tried so hard not to use it the vocals ended up sounding forced. Bring back the Piano and the Falsetto and when can have another great album. If you want change The jump from A Rush of Blood to the Head to X&y was subtle but enough to draw people in. And that is what every band should go through.

DJC gave it a9:
I till don't get why everyone hates coldplay all of a sudden is it because it's unfashionable to like great music. I think that this record is one of the best of 2008 and anyone who disagrees is obviously not listening properly.

hasinur r gave it a5:
They are increasingly getting worse.

Zach B gave it a10:
This is, honestly, one of the best albums that I have ever listened to. The first track goes perfectly with the last track with the sort of synthy sound and coming back with that at the end of the album. It gave me goosebumps. Then, Viva la Vida is one of my favorite songs of all time. Violet Hill and Cemeteries of London also bring dimensions of Coldplay in which has not really been seen before in other albums, but is still fantastic. The Chinese Sleep Chant after Yes is a song that mesmorizes and is a wonderful addition. While this does sound U2'ish, that is not a bad thing. U2 is one of the most established bands of all time and to say that it sounds like U2 is a compliment more than anything else.

Chris C. gave it a9:
This is proof that Coldplay are worth the hype and the fame. The album is adventurous, experimental, and emotional. It's nice to hear an album of songs that take you on a journey. I think they are one album away from making an actual classic...

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